Wide-Awake City Poetry is what makes sure we are awake.

30 people (of the many) who I never talk to but will never forget:
(don't feel obligated to take it all in; it was done for the doing. do consider making a similar list.)

1. Josh Wickler, 1st best friend
2. Einalee Painter, sunday school teacher
3. Theron, 1st crush
4. Mrs. Cawood, 3rd and 5th grade teacher who had to break up some girl fights
5. Karen LaFasso, missionary to Papua New Guinnea
6. Mr. Pearson, eccentric Communications teacher
7. Andrew, super-nerdy kid I loved to talk to on the bus, usually about fractals, I think
8. Melissa, girl in neighborhood who wouldn't let me play on her gymnastics equipment in her basement
9. Madame Black, French teacher
10. Old Bible study crew - Boyers, Klayders, Iliffs
11. Hugheses, family friends with awesome children and killer lakehouse where I learned to water ski
12. Nathan, high school friend with whom I traded philosophical/religious banter and debate
13. Mrs. Lucas, English teacher who introduced me to the world of literature
14. Kirk, amazing random man I met at a homeless shelter who had been traveling the country for years just to see what the cities were like
15. Claire, girl in French class who was beautiful, quirky, and fun to talk to
16. James, friend who I wasn't allowed to go with to prom because he wasn't a Christian
17. Ryan, 1st kiss
18. Dirk Speilhagen, German boss who had a delightful accent, listened to classical music, and treated me like a human even though I was the only female at the tooling shop where I worked
19. P. Kevin Heath, fantastic writing teacher who induced both discipline and creative juices
20. Kristina, beautiful girl I knew in college who got pregnant, dropped out, had lots of kids and managed to create a beautiful life
21. Katia, Cathy, and Joanna, my introduction to girls who could be both deeply "good" AND deeply off the wall
22. R., my very unfortunate 1st college roommate (no names, just in case...)
23. William and Joanie Brown and kids, young family I lived with in Grenoble, France
24. Michael, friendly German with whom I explored Paris and went to the Louvre
25. The crazy family who runs The Blushing Rose floral shop in Nashua, New Hampshire
26. Meredith, Texas roommate whose laugh still makes me smile when it rings in my ears and always painstakingly cut vegetables in very small pieces
27. Paul Kroeger, grammar teacher at Wycliffe in Dallas who showed me my own deep love for grammar and often used the verb 'to tickle' in example sentences
28. The Mormon boys who became porch friends in Xenia, Ohio
29. Bill, the physician's assistant at the GI doctor's office where I used to work, one of the kindest souls ever
30. Ayubjan, my Tajik roommate in Urumchi, China, who, for study breaks, moved the kitchen table out of the way and cranked up the Tajik music to dance around every single day